2024-2025 MHPSD Budget

Medicine Hat, Alberta – May 28, 2024: Medicine Hat Public School Division (MHPSD) Board of Trustees announced the 2024-2025 budget, prioritizing supports for students and staff retention while navigating a challenging financial landscape.

The 2024-2025 budget reflects a slight increase in enrolment (30 additional students projected), compared to last year. The per student instruction grant rates did not increase. There was a 0% change in base instruction grants from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025. The socio-economic grant that supports classroom services was reduced by 16%. While there was a 0% increase in operations and maintenance grants, our capital maintenance and renewal portfolio saw a 138% increase, which is the expected rebound to pre-COVID levels.

“With no increase in per student instruction grants, reductions to other grants, and rising financial pressures, we have less funding per student next year than this. This makes it challenging to keep up with increasing operational costs,” said Catherine Wilson, Board Chair. “Despite this, our board remains focused on limiting the impact on class sizes and keeping supports in place to address the complexities of student needs, while providing the best educational experience”.

Increasing financial pressures that are impacting operations include benefits, wage grid movement, wage increases and purchase service and supplies. In the past year, the Division began utilizing reserves to facilitate gradual cost reductions through attrition to align with reduced resources. For the 2024-2025 school year there is a plan to reduce staff full time equivalent (FTE) by 11.8 teachers, 5.71 support staff, and 2.25 centralized positions. While it is difficult to experience a reduction in staff FTE positions, this financial reality has been mostly balanced through attrition (retirements, etc.).

School divisions are facing budgeting challenges due to increases in costs such as employee benefits, salaries, consumable materials, and more. This is difficult for MHPSD, after receiving slightly reduced funding per student due to the reduction of some grants. Utilizing operating reserves of $800,000 will soften the impact of reduced revenue and rising costs, supporting our plan for reduction through attrition.

Mark Davidson, Superintendent, said “While we will see a modest increase in class sizes, it is expected that ours will remain significantly lower than other urban school divisions. This budget reflects our commitment to responsible financial management while prioritizing the success of our students and staff. We are confident that these measures will allow us to continue delivering high-quality education.”

The Board recognizes the impact of these decisions and is committed to transparency. The 2024-2025 Spring Budget and summary explanations (budget presentation) are available at mhpsd.ca.

SUMMARY OF KEY BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS AND OVERVIEW

Grants

• Alberta Education increase in spending of $382M or 4.4% is to address required funding for incremental students arriving across the province, which includes our projected 30 additional students.
• The per student instruction grant rates did not increase, there was a 0% change from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025. Combined with increased costs due to inflation, the result is that MHPSD will have less instruction funding per student.
• The result was the planned use of operating reserves to fund recent deficit budgets to soften staffing reduction. 2023-2024 was the first year that MHPSD attempted to use attrition to address staffing. 
• 2020-2021 Change in funding framework – The reduction in funding was not felt in entirety until 2023-2024, after the COVID Hold Harmless funding was largely eliminated.  
• Socioeconomic grant – Recalculated based on provincial data which resulted in a reduction of ($322,000).  
• Funding for MHPSD’s 50% portion of Coulee Collegiate students will come from our partners at Prairie Rose Public Schools rather than directly from Alberta Education.          
• Operations and maintenance
• • 0% increase to rates.
  • Capital Maintenance Renewal (CMR) CMR – increased $623,300 or 138%, which is the expected rebound to pre-COVID levels.
• System administration saw an increase of 4.5%, which was largely used for classroom supports.
• Transportation – 0% increase to per student rates. MHPSD is forecasting an increase in revenue for 2024/25 due to the 2-year phase in of the expanded ridership eligibility. 

Expenses

• Rising cost of employee benefits and wage grid movement.
• Teachers – Anything negotiated centrally will be funded through a targeted incremental grant to be received after the settlement.
• Non-Certificated Staff – There is no incremental funding to pay for any negotiated wage increases.  
• Purchase services and supplies – discretionary items were reduced by (1.35%) to maintain funds for staffing positions.
  
  The 2024-2025 budget is evidence of our commitments to student success, staff retention, and inclusive education. Once passed, the 2024-2025 budget will be submitted to Alberta Education.

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